You had to be there: A column of sour grapes

“Perhaps contrary to accepted wisdom, a lot
actually happens in Springfield during any given week. In “You had to be
there,” a new recurring feature on theFaingold at Largeblog, I will take on the role of reader’s
surrogate as I report on musical, theatrical, artistic, or even just
spontaneous events that happened in town the previous week. If it sometimes
seems like I’m rubbing it in – well, get off the couch next time.”

What better way to prepare as another weekend begins
its inevitable descent upon the Springfield area than to look back at the
previous weekend? Especially when said previous weekend included some of the
most exciting regional musical events in recent memory while the upcoming one
is opening weekend for the Illinois State Fair.

There was so much music going on at the Downhome
Festival of Music, Beer and Arts last Friday and Saturday, it was literally
impossible for any one fan to see every act (in addition to the two tandem
outdoor stages, acts were performing simultaneously at both Brewhaus and Celtic
Mist). This of course means that any two music fans attending Downhome might have
entirely different experiences, based on random factors like timing or personal
factors like taste. Your Downhome is not necessarily your neighbor’s Downhome.

An out-of-town family event kept me from attending Friday
at all, so my Downhome didn’t get
underway until Los Injectors took the stage at 4:30 in the afternoon on
Saturday. It had only been a week since their set of early Van Halen songs at
Donnie’s for Under The Covers (see last week’s You Had to be There) and it was
good to see them back in their psychobilly wheelhouse. Vishnu-like Multi-instrumentalist
Damon “Demon” Soper yowled and shredded, bass player Jeff “Jackhammer Washington”
Cunningham thumped maniacally and Chris “C-Dub” Warren slammed the skins. The energy
was high and the sun was beating down pretty hard. A crazed version of “Ace of
Spades” ended an all-too-short set with just the right tone of playful
aggression.

Reliable surf-rock wack-jobs Go! Tsunami took the
stage next, replete with their customary Mexican wrestling masks. It was the
band’s first show with new drummer “Mr. Tentacles” but the band played together
like old hands - if there were waves to
be found on 7th Street, many in the crowd would undoubtedly have
been hanging ten. To be fair, things did get about as tubular as realistically possible.

I’m sure I missed some great music when I left downtown
for a while to eat dinner and let the dog out (he said tactfully). On
returning, The Seething Coast’s set at Brewhaus was short and super-sweet, with
singer-guitarists Jay and Jason trading off one solid catchy song after
another, climaxing with a guest vocal appearance by Jessica from Looming (about
whom more below) on a fantastic version of the Moldy Peaches song “Lucky Number
Nine.” Not long after, The Strand / Condition 90 reunion took the Downhome main
stage, with consummately kinetic drummer Tony and all three frontline Toms (Irwin,
Kinney, Woolsey) in rare form. The set was heavy on angry, topical songs like “Apathy
Dies At Sunrise” and “White City,” which – for better or worse – seem just as lyrically
relevant 30 years later. Long live protest power pop! With the 1980s vibe still
hanging in the air, Looming brought things right up to date, with cutting riffs,
churning rhythms and alternately soaring and squeaking vocals from the dynamic
Jessica Knight. All of this was as a mere aperitif before the main course of
NIL8, who warranted and received as close as Springfield can offer to true rock
star treatment to close out the night.

Even with all that, I apparently hadn’t had enough
music because Sunday found me making a beeline up Route 36 to the Decatur
Celebration, without so much as a glance at the weather radar, which might have
tipped me off to a torrential downpour that seemed to have surgically targeted
the festival grounds. Luckily I was under the craft beer tent when the worst of
it hit and things cleared up in time for Salt n Pepa, although the crush of
fans made it hard to get a decent sightline on a set that seemed as heavy on
audience-baiting as hits. “Push It”? More like “Milk It.”

Joan Jett

Since joining The Runaways at age 17, Joan Jett has
been a rock and roll icon. Now a hugely energetic 56, she makes an exceedingly
youthful-seeming elder-statesperson, continuing to combine a slouchy
insouciance with a childlike, joyful love of rock and roll (most directly
expressed in that one song, what was it called?). Clad in a skintight red
leather jumpsuit, Jett’s set at Decatur Celebration delivered all of the hits
(even The Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb”!), a few songs from her 2013 CD Unvarnished and ended with her version
of Sly & the Family Stone’s “Everyday People.”

Anyway that’s what y’all
missed last weekend. I guess you had to be there.